Turkey's Economic Minister calls for Volkswagen to move production to Turkey

Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan repeated his call for German auto giant Volkswagen invest in Turkey, telling the press that the government's new automotive tax package -- and the possibility of tariffs on the German maker's imports -- will push the...

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Turkey's Economic Minister calls for Volkswagen to move production to Turkey

Balkans.com Business News Correspondent - 25.02.2013

Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan repeated his call for German auto giant Volkswagen invest in Turkey, telling the press that the government's new automotive tax package -- and the possibility of tariffs on the German maker's imports -- will push the company to move production to Turkey reports Hurriyet Daily News.

“I hope that Volkswagen won't miss out on the new incentive system. This isn't just about Turkey and is going to work to the advantage of Volkswagen,” the minister said during a joint press conference with German Ambassador Eberhard Pohl on Friday. Ankara's auto plan gives carmakers a 60 percent tax break on investments and is an offer that Çağlayan said “Volkswagen will certainly not overlook.” It may also be an offer Volkswagen can't refuse, as the minister hinted has he questioned the carmaker's investing practices and threatened tariffs.

“Germany's largest firms are investing in our country. If these firms weren't benefiting from Turkey, they wouldn't be there,” he said, reasoning that if some German companies were operating in Turkey, Volkswagen should be, too. Çağlayan said Ankara has been rankled by the car company's decision not open production facilities in Turkey, even though it is the country's third most popular auto brand. Other popular automakers in Turkey, including Fiat-Tofaş, Oyak-Renault and Ford Otosan, base final production in Turkey and are joint efforts between Turkish and foreign firms.

Çağlayan earlier this week called Volkwagen's decision not to follow a similar business model “unacceptable” and repeated that line on Friday when he told the press: “Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been extremely insistent on this. Those who invest in Turkey make profits. If it weren't that way, there wouldn't be companies that have been here for centuries.”